22 MONTH OLD BABY DEVELOPMENT

At 22 months your toddler is becoming more aware of her feelings and is now likely to be showing different emotions such as frustration, affection and jealousy. Here is what else you can expect:Be sure to acknowledge her feelings because it’s important for her confidence that she feels safe in expressing them. You may also notice that she is beginning to recognise these emotions in others by showing concern at tears or raised voices.

It’s not uncommon for young children to wake at night from scary or vivid dreams about monsters. These dreams are often caused by too much stimulation during the day, watching a scary video before bedtime, or just being over tired.

The important thing is to reassure your child that all is well and to allay any fears she may have about monsters. At this age, your toddler doesn’t understand the difference between reality and what happened in her dream, so any monsters will be very real to her.

As she shows an increasing interest in her world she will start to relate to other children and will happily play alongside them – playing together comes a bit later.

She’ll still be unlikely to understand the concept of sharing and will become upset if another child tries to take any of her toys.

She learns a lot from watching other children play and you may notice that she tries to copy what other children do.

If you haven’t already done so, now may be a good time to join a local playgroup or toddler activity class so your toddler can meet other children of the same age. If your toddler seems a bit overwhelmed by being with a lot of other children, organise some one-to-one play dates at home where she can be more in control of what is happening around her.

Your little one will chatter away to herself while she plays and even though the words may not make much sense, the rhythm that she uses will sound like real speech.

You can help her speech development by singing nursery rhymes and encouraging her to join in with actions and simple words.

The information on this website is for general information and it is not intended as, nor should it be considered as a substitute for seeing your own GP, midwife or healthcare professional. You are advised to seek professional medical advice if you have any concerns or suspect you have a medical problem.